The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30: An Examination of a Bifactor Model and Measurement Invariance Among Men and Women in a Community Sample

The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) is a self-report measure that assesses metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about thinking). Prior research has supported a correlated five-factor model, but no known published study has examined the tenability of second-order or bifactor models of the MCQ-30. Results supported a bifactor model of the MCQ-30 in a sample of community adults from the United States (N = 785), as well as separately among men (n = 372) and women (n = 413). Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analysis supported the configural and metric/scalar invariance of the bifactor model among men and women. Results further supported the incremental validity of one of the MCQ-30 domain-specific factors in accounting for unique variance in an index of health anxiety beyond the general metacognition factor. Results provide support for a bifactor conceptualization of the MCQ-30 and the invariance of that model across men and women.